1982 Lancia Rally 037 Coupe

For the 1982 season, the rally championship was now contested by the newly created Group B, which specified a minimum of 200 examples be built to satisfy homologation requirements. The FIA had announced their new Group B rallying regulations in the summer of 1979, so with little time to develop an entirely new car, Lancia turned to its existing range of vehicles and its parts bin to create a worthy competitor. Within its existing arsenal, Lancia had the Beta Montecarlo Turbo Gr.5, which was well on its way to delivering the company with the 1980 and 1981 World Sportscar Championships. Similar to the Beta Montecarlo Turbo Gr.5, Lancia's new rally car would use a central monocoque of the production Montecarlo road car with the engine and suspension carried on tubular subframes front and rear.

Abarth and Pininfarina were commissioned to design, engineer, and homologate the resulting Lancia vehicle. Abarth's lead racing engineer was Sergio Limone, who determined that the 2.0-liter, twin-cam inline four-cylinder engine in the 037 should be mounted longitudinally (unlike the transverse-engined Gr.5). This arrangement would allow for better access to the suspension and gearbox, and provide more flexibility in rear suspension design. To improve throttle response, a Roots-type 'Volumex' supercharger was added instead of the exhaust-driven turbocharger used by the GR.5.

Abarth completed the 'SE 037' project by April 1980, and FIA certification was granted on April 1, 1982. The 037 Rally car made its competition debut on May 6, 1982, at the Tour de Corse Rallye de France where it placed 9th overall. Intense development and testing throughout the season created a worthy championship contender for the 1983 season. Walter Röhrl and Markku Alén lead the works Martini Racing team to wins at Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse, Acropolis, New Zealand, and Sanremo. At the end of the season, Lancia had won its fifth constructors' championship and the final WRC title by a two-wheel-drive car.

The road-going 037 Stradale retained many of the performance characteristics of its championship-winning sibling, with commendable power and razor-sharp handling. In street tune, the mid-mounted inline-four cylinder engine offered 205 horsepower which was sent to the rear wheels via a ZF five-speed manual transmission. Among its state-of-the-art mechanical specifications included a self-locking rear differential and 16-inch Speedline alloy wheels fitted with Pirelli tires.

Chassis Number ZLA151AR000000022
This 1982 Lancia Rally 037 Stradale was first registered with plate number PA 733158 on May 24, 1984, to Francesco Pio Bignardi from Palermo, Sicily. In 2005, the car was acquired by Carlo Pungetti of Bologna, but it was not registered for road use; rather, it remained in a warehouse with the rest of his collection.

An individual from Germany acquired the Lancia in 2015, and its current caretaker purchased it in 2019.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2024